‘All quiet’ on Election Day in Georgia

In the first statewide test of new voting restrictions, Georgia’s high-stakes primary election appeared to be running smoothly Tuesday with no reports of major problems in one of the nation’s most important battleground states.

A record number of ballots cast during the early voting period in the three weeks before Election Day helped ease the strain at polling places. There were no reports of long lines or widespread equipment problems despite hotly contested GOP primary races for governor and U.S. Senate.

“It’s all quiet, and quiet is good,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who also was facing a GOP primary challenger in his re-election bid.

Election Day capped a record-setting early voting period in Georgia. Nearly 860,000 ballots had been cast through Friday, the majority of which were done in-person as opposed to mail. State election officials said the early turnout marked a 168 percent increase from the 2018 primary and a 212 percent increase from 2020.

Republicans have touted the early voting numbers as evidence that the Georgia elections law has not harmed voters.

“Now we are seeing the hard evidence that as we all knew, the hysteria was never based on fact to begin with,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., said on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Georgia was among three states, along with Alabama and Arkansas, holding regular primaries Tuesday. Texas had runoff elections, while Minnesota was holding a special primary for the seat of former Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who died in February.

Voting was being extended in at least seven precincts in Georgia that delayed their morning opening. There were no immediate reports of major voting issues in the other states.